Deepening fractures within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) escalated on Monday when the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade SAN, threw his weight behind calls to replace the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu with former National Youth Leader Sunday Udeh-Okoye.
The move signals a fresh dimension of the crisis within the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), further destabilising an already divided opposition ahead of early preparations towards the 2027 elections.
According to a former member of the party’s PDP’s National Executive Committee, who requested anonymity, the new development signals much danger for the party, especially as some proxy forces against Anyanwu may be concluding plans to move en masse into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after unsettling PDP.
“This isn’t just about Udeh-Okoye or Anyanwu—it’s a test of the PDP’s capacity to govern itself; if the NWC ignores its own Legal Adviser and BoT, it risks alienating other stakeholders ahead of 2027 and if it goes ahead to move against Anyanwu, Damagum will be easily overwhelmed and NEC meeting would take place sooner, with strong likelihood of replacing Damagum too,” he stated.
In a memo acknowledged by the office of the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, on Monday Ajibade asked the National Working Committee which he, Damagum and Anyanwu belong to, to immediately swear in Udeh-Okoye, as the National Secretary.
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Ajibade hinged the ‘legal advice’ on his full adoption of the PDP Board of Trustees panel’s decision which in turn, is based on the report of its one-man committee constituted by former Minister of Special Duties and BoT member, Kabiru Turaki SAN.
At its meeting in Abuja last week, the PDP BoT resolved to fully adopt Turaki’s recommendation that Honourable Udeh-Okoye replace Senator Samuel Anyanwu as PDP’s National Secretary.
However, in a strong reaction, PDP’s South-east Zonal Legal Adviser, Ukpai Ukairo, who described the the purported resolution as ‘an accursed document’ also emphasised that the BoT decision is “porous, illegal and lacking foundation in law and morality”, adding the mere act of taking the PDP BoT’s meeting to a hotel instead of the party’s national secretariat and having the said meeting without communication with the national secretariat was enough to subject the BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara to serious disciplinary sanctions.
But in his memo, which is in response to Damagum’s Febriary 6, 2023 memo titled: “Legal opinion with regards to the position of the National Secretary,” and seeking legal advice on what to do with the BoT resolution, Ajibade justified the BoT’s position, noting Udeh-Okoye and Senator Samuel Anyanwu had submitted themselves to the BoT committee, adding that they should demonstrate the honour of accepting the panel’s findings.
According to Ajibade, the resolution is justified and Anyanwu deserves to be replaced by Udeh-Okoye.
“The contending parties have voluntarily submitted to the authority of the Dr. Kabiru T. Turaki, SAN led committee and a legal opinion/advice having been proffered after evaluation of documents tendered by parties, calling for review of the said legal opinion/advise in my opinion is not only improper but will undermine the effort of the BOT and increase the already existing tension as well as worsen the volatility within the party which may be difficult to arrest.
“It is, therefore, my advice that the contending parties have willingly submitted themselves to the authority of the committee led by Dr. Kabiru T. Turaki, SAN should be honourable enough to abide by the outcome of the legal opinion/advice stemming from the proceeding they unreservedly consented to, most especially that the said legal opinion/advice was signed by a well experienced Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and same adopted by the BOT which is the conscience of the party. See Article 32(5) (a) to (i) of the Constitution (amended in 2017) of our great party.
“Finally, I have nothing to add to the said legal opinion, it is hereby adopted as mine, ” Ajibade stated.
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life, sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (27 February 1807 – 24 March 1882)